Many animals, such as dogs, cats and other domesticated pets, must be walked and exercised on a regular basis. Commonly, pet owners tether their pets while walking them to prevent the pets from straying or invading private areas. Pet owners with more than one pet often save time by walking multiple pets at once. This may lead to problems, however, when each pet requires its own leash.
For example, handling two or more leashes may occupy both of the pet owners hands, preventing the owner from carrying any additional items, such as materials for cleaning pet waste. Further, the leashes may easily become crossed or tangled when the pets go in different directions and cross paths. Moreover, when one pet stops and the other pet continues moving, it may become difficult for the pet owner or handler to maintain control over both pets.
Numerous specialty leashes have been developed to assist with walking a plurality of pets at once. However, each of these leash designs suffers from shortcomings. For example, retractable leashes have been designed to allow a handler to control the length of the pet's leash. Retractable leashes, however, suffer from similar problems as basic fixed length leashes that may become crossed or tangled. These leashes further include internal components and mechanisms that are prone to wear and tear. Multiple-pet fixed length leashes allow a handler to tether two pets using just one leash. However, these leashes often do not provide individual control of each pet, and thus allow the pets to both tangle and pull at one another.
Therefore, an improved leash for tethering multiple animals is needed.